Remember Me
by Darci the Thespian
Summary: Marius remembers his friends, and the memories can never truly leave him


Marius' POV

Cosette and I were sitting down for dinner.

"This meal is excellent, my love," I said, smiling.

Cosette blushed, "thank you."

I took a sip of the wine and nearly choked. Cosette glanced up, frowning, "Marius, are you alright?"

"_Come on! One drink!" Grantaire's loud voice filled the back room._

_Enjolras scowled, "Grantaire, we have a revolution to plan."_

_I shrugged, "I'll drink with you, R." I sat down at his table. Courfeyrac laughed and sat down with me, "Oh Marius, you have no idea what you're getting into."_

_Grantaire grinned and poured me a glass of wine. I took a sip and nearly gagged, "What is this?!"_

"_Only Paris' best wine," Grantaire said._

_I took out a handkerchief and dabbed at my mouth. Courfeyrac was still laughing, loudly. "Well, I sure hope I never have to drink that again."_

"Nothing's wrong, Cosette," I said softly. "I don't think I have an appetite anymore." Cosette looked troubled as I stood up. I kissed her on the cheek and went up to bed, not tired in the slightest.

XXX

"Isn't this a wonderful day for a stroll?" Cosette said as we walked down the street.

I nodded, "Yes, it is." A familiar apartment caught my eye. I paused, "Cosette, stay here." I said, as I walked across the street. I made my way up to the room.

Inside, it was cold and dark. Dust was in the corner and I saw a rat run across the floor. I walked over the bed and touched it softly. It still smelled like Courfeyrac. A smell of vanilla, flowers, and sweat.

_I stumbled through the room, forgetting for a moment that I was staying at Courfeyrac's._

"_You okay, Marius?" he said, his voice coming from the dark._

"_No, I can't see," I said. A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the wall that I was about to hit. Courfeyrac was like a cat with his night vision. The night was silent, as my eyes and ears failed me. Sighing, I took a great big whiff, content to have that sense still working._

"_Courfeyrac, you smell funny," I mumbled._

_Courfeyrac chuckled, "do I? And what do I smell like?"_

"_Vanilla…flowers…sweat…" I said._

_I knew Courfeyrac well enough that he was grinning right now, "Well, thank you Marius. Vanilla and flowers appease the ladies. And the sweat is from working all day and the stress and honestly, I just need to sleep."_

"_Oh, sorry," I felt bad. Courfeyrac worked hard in between school and planning the revolution._

"_Don't worry, I can fall back to sleep easy," Courfeyrac said. By then, we were both sitting on the bed._

"_Thank you Courfeyrac," I said, giving him a clumsy hug._

_Courfeyrac laughed, "Go back to sleep Marius."_

XXX

"Marius, guess what?" Cosette said her face alight with excitement.

"What is it, my dear?" I asked.

Cosette beamed, "We're going to have a baby!"

"A b-baby!" I said, shocked and happy. I hugged Cosette.

"Come, we must get the materials," I said.

Cosette laughed, "Marius, we have nine months."

"Still, let me tell Grandfather," I said. Cosette nodded and I left.

"_Where are you from Enjolras?" I asked._

_Enjolras glanced at me and sighed, "I was brought up into a rich family."_

"_Did you get along with them?" I questioned further. The other Amis were listening closely. Enjolras had really only told Combeferre and Courfeyrac about his past._

"_Sometimes," Enjolras said, smiling wryly. "I was a rather rebellious teenager. But, as an adult, I can see they mean well. So many people have worst parentage, so I should be happy with growing up in a safe place."_

_I thought to Éponine, the poor girl associating with the Patron-Minette. I noticed Enjolras glance at Grantaire for a second. Enjolras assumed that Grantaire had grown up in a bad household. He wanted to put some sort of explanation on Grantaire's dark view on life._

_Grantaire, seeing the leader's eyes on him, sighed, "My father seemed to dislike me. I wasn't the most talented or smart person in the world."_

_Combeferre frowned, "That's not true, R."_

_Grantaire laughed heartedly and helped himself to some more wine, "Ah well, nothing can change the pass."_

"_Both my parents are dead," I said quietly. "I used to dislike my father, since I was brought up by my grandfather. And then, I realized that my father was forbidden to see me because my grandfather commanded it. I had gone to his house, but he had already died. I ran away from my grandfather's place."_

_Enjolras put a comforting hand on my shoulder, "We're all here for you, Marius. We're more than friends, we're family."_

XXX

"What color should the nursery be?" Cosette asked.

"Light green?" I said. I almost chuckled when I thought about what Enjolras would have said. "We can't paint it red and black, that's for sure," I muttered.

Cosette turned to me, "What?"

"Oh, nothing," I said quickly. I had the habit of voicing my thoughts, and so often do they involve my friends.

"So, a meadow?" Cosette asked. "Light green on the bottom and sky blue on the top with a bright yellow sun."

"That sounds perfect," I said, hugging her waist from behind. I rested my head on her shoulder and closed my eyes.

When the painter came in, he was dressed in torn clothes and looked starving. We gave him food and water, and paid him well.

_Feuilly stumbled into the meeting, grumbling._

"_You're late," Bahorel said, jokingly._

_Feuilly glared at him, "Why don't you work a job all day, with next to no salary? Why don't you try to go a whole day working hungry?"_

"_Sorry, Feuilly," Bahorel said quickly. Feuilly sat down and Grantaire passed him a mug._

"_What job do you have?" I asked, leaning from my table to his._

_Feuilly rubbed his head, a headache no doubt forming, "I paint fans."_

"_They're beautiful," Bahorel mocked, earning a small punch in the arm from Feuilly._

"_I would sure like to see one," I said, enthusiastically._

_Feuilly smiled, "Okay, Marius."_

_I came by to his shop later and saw all the beautiful fans displayed out. "Wow, you have a real gift," I said._

"_You should see Grantaire's artwork," Feuilly muttered, but I was too distracted by the fans._

XXX

Last night, Cosette and I got no sleep. There was a thunderstorm outside, and Cosette was frightened. She said she didn't like thunderstorms. I held her through the whole night. Personally, thunderstorms never frightened me.

"I remember when I was younger, at the Thénardiers," Cosette in a small voice. "There was a huge storm out. Azelma and Gavroche were crying. Éponine slept through it. She was brave, even as a little girl. I had cowered underneath the steps, praying. Then, when I was with father, he hugged me the whole night during another thunderstorm. He promised nothing bad would happen to me. Now, I stay with you, Marius."

"I will always be here," I promised.

Cosette smiled, "Sometimes, when I fall asleep, I dream about a lady in white, with golden hair and blue eyes. She is smiling and comforting me."

"I dream about my friends. Everything reminds me of them," I said.

"Even the thunderstorm?" Cosette asked.

I nodded, "Even the thunderstorm. The lightning and thunder are Enjolras and Grantaire fighting."

_It was one of my first meetings. I was sitting with Courfeyrac, glancing shyly at everyone else in the room. Another boy, closer to my age, was sitting with us, talking to Courfeyrac. _

_Then, Enjolras and Grantaire began arguing. Their voices got louder and louder as they were shouting at each other. The other Amis had quieted down, but weren't really paying the argument much attention._

"_They fight all the time," the boy, Jehan, said. He shrugged, "don't worry about it."_

"_But what if they get violent?" I said, worried._

_Courfeyrac yawned, "Enjolras will only be violent during the revolution and Grantaire cares about Enjolras a lot. Grantaire usually storms out and then comes back in a few days."_

"_Oh," I said, sad. "That's a shame. It must be awful to love someone who'll never love you back."_

_Courfeyrac and Jehan shared a look behind my back. Courfeyrac straightened his cravat, "How's your neighbor doing? The one you told us about?"_

"_Éponine? She's fine," I said, still watching Enjolras and Grantaire._

XXX

I was walking downstairs when I noticed that it was raining. It wasn't much, just a drizzle. In a daze, I stumbled outside.

"_Éponine, come and get treated," I pleaded. To top it all off, it was raining._

"_Just stay with me," the girl said, holding onto me. Her grip tightened as she grimaced from the pain._

_I held her close to my chest, "everything will be all right, I promise."_

"_It will be, soon," Éponine said. "Monsieur Marius, please stay with me as I die."_

_I frowned, "You're not dying."_

_Éponine laughed bitterly. Her gunshot wound was still bleeding, as was her hand. "Oh Monsieur, I will be gone soon. Please don't forget me."_

"_I won't," I said, smoothing the hair away from her forehead._

_Éponine rested her head against me, "Being here with you erases the pain," she mumbled. "I feel fine."_

"_Are you sure? Joly's inside, he could take a look…" I trailed off, knowing Éponine won't go. "I'll stay with you until you are gone," I said softly._

_Éponine smiled, "thank you."_

_The rain continued to fall as Éponine was dying. Eventually, she drifted off. I kissed her forehead, believing she was dead._

_Éponine's eyelids fluttered open, "And by the way, Monsieur Marius, I do believe I was a little in love with you." _

"Marius! Marius! Please come back inside, it's cold!" I was jolted out of the memory by Cosette's voice. I turned and saw her standing in the doorway. She had a shawl wrapped around her and looked worried.

I stumbled back over to her, not realizing my clothes were all soaked. Cosette drew a hot bath for me, which warmed me up slightly.

XXX

"I'm almost done as a lawyer!" I said.

Cosette smiled, her hand resting protectively on her round stomach. "Marius, that's wonderful!"

I kissed her and smiled sadly, "I should thank Bossuet, shouldn't I?"

Cosette took my hand, "Yes, you should thank all of your friends by becoming a successful, respectful, good lawyer."

"I will," I said. "I'm going to continue to make this world better, even if it's only me."

"Only the three of us," Cosette said. We were going to be a family, I realized. An actual family. But, none of my friends got that chance. A few of them had siblings and were in contact with their parents. Did any of them spend their last moments thinking about their family? Did they write letters to their mothers, saying they'll write back when the Republic has succeeded? How many mother's hearts have broken on June 6th?

"_I haven't thanked you properly, Lesgle," I said._

_Courfeyrac laughed from the bed. Courfeyrac was always laughing. Joly was sitting with him, talking about a new disease spreading. Lesgle was talking with me._

"_It was nothing," he said, dismissively, "I never really wanted to become a lawyer. And please, call me Bossuet. All my friends do."_

"_And you're our friend," Joly called out. "Don't forget that!"_

_Bossuet nodded enthusiastically. He went to hug me, but tripped on the way over, and brought us both down the floor. Courfeyrac and Joly couldn't talk, they were laughing so hard. Bossuet got up and mumbled an apology. I quickly jumped up and dusted myself off. This was my only pair of pants._

"_Marius, you need more clothes," Courfeyrac said, still red in the face. _

_Joly frowned, "do you need money to buy some?"_

"_Nah, he can have mine," Courfeyrac said, getting up and getting a few clothes._

"_Thank you," I said._

_Joly, however, seemed hesitant. "What about the disease that could spread?"_

_Courfeyrac rolled his eyes, "Joly, I'm healthy; trust me. Think of the diseases Marius could get by walking around naked!"_

I take out the clothes, Courfeyrac's clothes. Cosette watched me sadly as I ran my hands over the fabric.

"It's like he's still here," I said, softly.

XXX

I was woken up in the middle of night by Cosette. "Are you alright?" I say, still half-asleep.

"I can feel the baby kicking," Cosette said. She took my hand and rested it on her stomach. I smiled as I felt a small foot kicking against my hand.

"Are you in pain? Can you sleep?" I asked.

Cosette laughed, "I'm fine, just excited."

I held her close, "I'm excited too," I whispered.

"_Gavroche, stop running around," Courfeyrac said._

_Gavroche frowned and crossed his arms, "why?"_

"_Because you could get hurt," Courfeyrac said, walking over to him and rustling Gavroche's hair. The barricade was busy, with the wounded and dead being transported inside the café and the barricade being restored since the last attack._

_I sat down and watched Gavroche bounce up and down. After the deaths of Jean Prouvaire, Éponine, and Bahorel, no one felt like celebrating. Gavroche was Éponine's brother. Did he know that she was dead?_

_Not until he saw Combeferre carry the body inside the café. Gavroche froze and his mouth fell open, "Ponine?" he said in a small voice. Courfeyrac was next to him in an instant, holding him. Gavroche hugged Courfeyrac tightly, trembling._

"_The barricade is no place for women and children," Combeferre remarked, when he came back. "But it's also no place for anyone. Yet someone has to take a stand. Those who are ready to risk their lives should do so for the revolution. We do not want the innocent hurt. 'The good must be innocent.' But are we truly good? We've killed many soldiers, all in the name of Patria. What if that's not enough? What if we relinquished our hold on a good life by destroying others?"_

_Enjolras put a hand on his shoulder, "A true soldier acts for his country, and he is rewarded. We are acting for Patria. No one here is truly innocent; all of us have seen the face of Death up close. It passes us by as the bullet hits someone next to us. We hold the dying as we watch Death collect his toll."_

XXX

"The baby's coming," those words came hours ago.

Finally, the baby was out. Wrapped up in a blanket, their daughter looked up at Marius. She had big blue eyes, freckles, and a small tuff of brown hair.

"What should we name her?" Cosette asked.

Marius smiled, "Lisette Fantine Pontmercy."

XXX

8 years later

"Liz, where are you going?" Marius asked.

His daughter sighed and pushed her bangs out of her hair. "I was going for a walk, Papa."

"Take your brother, Courfeyrac," Marius instructed. Courfeyrac Jean Pontmercy was six years old. He had wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and Cosette's pale complexion. He was rowdy and hyper, and a handful.

"Fine," Lisette, or as she is called, Liz, said exasperatedly. "Courf, come on!"

Courfeyrac ran into the room, "Let's go!" He grabbed his sister's hand and they both took off. Marius smiled and then felt a small hand tugging on his pants. He looked down to see his five year old daughter, Maurelle Éponine Pontmercy, who went by Elle, looking up at him with blonde hair, blue eyes, and light freckles.

"Papa, can you tell me another story?" Elle asked. Marius smiled and sat down, putting Elle on his knee.

"There once was a group of friends who called themselves Les Amis. They were a family, tightly knitted together. Each one was a puzzle piece, and only with all ten pieces, is the picture complete…" Marius told her stories as Elle listened closely. Soon, Cosette walked over to them, holding a sleeping Georges Mabeuf Pontmercy. Little Georges had brown hair, brown eyes, and as many freckles as Marius. He was only two years old.

"Elle, go get cleaned up for dinner," Cosette said. Elle nodded and raced off, where Toussaint was waiting.

"How are you?" Marius asked.

Cosette smiled, "I feel fine."

"Good," Marius kissed her forehead. He picked up little Georges, and carried him.

"Are you still having nightmares?" Cosette asked.

Marius frowned, "Less than usual. They never really leave; they just turn into pleasant dreams."

"Good," Cosette said, smiling.

"_Marius, we all will be with you forever," Courfeyrac said, "Even if you ignore us to stalk Cosette."_

_Marius' face went red as Grantaire laughed. Marius smiled and looked around him. Courfeyrac was grinning, pleased with himself. He was twirling his hat around on his nimble fingers. Bahorel was laughing loudly. He even slammed his fists on the table. Feuilly was relaxed, for the first time in a while. He was grinning as he clinked glasses with Bahorel. Joly was inspecting his tongue via spoon. His tongue disappeared back into his mouth, as he grinned and started laughing. Bossuet was laughing even harder now and tears were forming in his eyes. Jehan was smiling brightly, all sadness gone from his eyes. Grantaire was laughing too, a loud laugh that filled the room. Combeferre was smiling. He was reclined back and cleaned his glasses, enjoying the company of his friends. Enjolras had taken a small break to breath in the moment. His eyes were closed and it seemed like the weight of the world was off his shoulders._

_Family. That's what they were. A family, who spent every day together. Talking, drinking, eating, laughing, working, studying, revolutionizing. They lived together and they died together. They died on June 5__th__, getting shot at or being a hostage for the National Guard. They died saving someone they loved. They died collecting ammo. They died with three bayonets to the chest, or one shot straight to the head. They died in an empty wine cellar. They died with the people they loved. They died surrounded by their family. What remained of that family? Marius. Marius remained. While he had Cosette and his children, a large part of him was missing. A part that could only be filled by Courfeyrac's personality, Bossuet's sarcasm, Joly's worrying, Jehan's poems, Grantaire's bitterness, Bahorel's laughter, Feuilly's knowledge, Combeferre's reassurance, and Enjolras' bravery. And maybe Marius stayed like that. As he grew old with a great big family, a part of him still ached. His dreams varied from pleasant walks with Courfeyrac to being on the barricade, watching as everyone around him died. Cosette helped him as best as she could. And then, came the day Marius was reunited with his friends. Feuilly and Bahorel slapped him on the back. Bossuet and Joly made a joke or two, both handing hands with a woman. Jehan and Courfeyrac hugged him. Combeferre and Enjolras congratulated him. Éponine gave him a huge hug, closely followed by Gavroche. She also hugged Cosette, who had come with him. Grantaire nodded his head at both of them, never leaving Enjolras' side. They were all together at last, the way it was meant to be._


End file.
